Fire-proof-shutter ventilator



'(NoModell) G. BASSBTT. Fire Proof Shutter Ventilator. No. 236.532.

Patented Jan. 11, I881.

I L mun INVENTEIR By Z W lTN EEEE-E N, PETERS. PHOTO LITHOGRAPNE Units TATES GEORGE BASSETT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

FIRE- PROOF-SHUTTER VENTILATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 236,532, dated January 11, 1881.

Application filed March 2, 1880.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE BASSETT, a subject of Great Britain, and resident of Ohicago, in the county of (look and State of Illi nois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fire-Proof Ventilators for Buildings, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to ventilators for buildin gs in which the shutters and doors are made of iron or other suitable material, for the exclusion of fire, burglars, &c. Heretofore, although these devices have afforded the desired protection from destructive agents without, much objection hasbeen made to them, for the reason that they not only cut off the admission of light and air, but so effectually exclude the inside of the building from inspection without that a fire originating within will not be discovered until it has made such headway as to be beyond control.

The object of my invention is to obviate these objections by providing said shutters and doors with ventilators which will exclude fire, insects, dust, &c., but admit both light and air, and permit the inspection from without of the inside of the building, without destroying their effectiveness for the purposes intended, and to provide means for opening and closing said ventilators as desired or as circumstances may require. Iattain these objects by devices illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 represents a pair of perforated iron shutters provided with my ventilator; Fig. 2, a shutter having a rectangular opening, over which is placed a similar ventilator having its upper corner folded over to show the relative position of the screen, plate, and surrounding frame; Fig. 3, a modification of the same; Fig. 4, a sectional view of the frame, showing the relative position of the plate therein.

Similar letters of reference refer to the same parts throughout the several views.

Arepresents a window, to the frame of which is hinged, in the ordinary manner, fire-proof shutters B B, of iron or other suitable material, which are either perforated, as shown in Fig. 1, or provided with a rectangular opening, as shown in Fig. 2, over which is placed a wirenetting or perforated or slitted metallic sheet,

No model.)

0, which will permit the unobstructed passage of light and air, but exclude fire, insects, dust, &c. Surrounding the opening or openings, and secured by bolts or other suitable means, is a metallic frame, D, having flanges or studs cl, forming guides or retaining devices for the metal plate E, which plate is provided with a series of perforations, c corresponding with the series in the shutter.

Should the shutter be provided with a single opening, as shown in Fig. 2','a'perforated plate, E, is secured upon the shutter, and the netting being between E "and the plate E,'the perforations of E may be made to coincide with those of the plate E by sliding the plate E.

The plate E is somewhat smaller than the frame D, and rests between its flanges, so that when the ventilator is in position it may be moved up. and down in the frame to open or close the perforations inthe plate E or the shutter, as the case may be. This sliding plate E is provided near its bottom with a thumb-catch, e, which, when the openings are closed, as shown in Fig. 1, tests on its edge in a slot, 0 in the frame, and when open is turned at a right angle to said slot, and rests upon the inner edge of the frame, as shown in Fig. 2.

From the above description it will be seen that my ventilator may be applied without lessening the effectiveness of the shutter for keeping out fire, burglars, 850., and will afford not only means for ventilation and light, but, in case of fire, of the inspection of the inside of the building, and for the introduction of hose-nozzle upon a fire inside of the building, when it is impossible to gain admission through said shutters and doors, by forcing the'nozzle through the perforation and the wire-gauze. So, also, may a fire without be played upon from the inside of the building without endangering the same or the lives of the firemen.

Although I have described my ventilator as particularly applicable to fire-proof devices, it may also be used upon other devices, such as car-windows, where it is desirable to admit air and light, and at the same time afford protection from live cinders, dust, insects, &c.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, with a perforated or slotted shutter, of the wire-netting G, perforated slid- In testimonywhereof I have hereunto signed 10 my name, in the presence of two witnesses, this the 27th day of February, 1880.

GEORGE BASSETT.

Witnesses JOHN G. ELLIOTT, BARNEY O. ELLIOTT. 

